CRCB, Ch. 11- Reading, Understanding, & Creating Visual Aids

Authors use visual aids in college textbooks to help readers understand information better. Visual aids provide quick accessible information that shows how ideas connect and relate to each other. Visual aids bring life to writings. Visual aids are used by authors for their readers as learning aids to illustrate and explain their main idea. There is a diverse variety of visual aids authors can use. Charts and tables condense large amounts of information into format that makes it easy to see how different items of information relate to each other. These aids work well for information on history, economics, and biology. Diagrams illustrate the connections between related pieces of information using simple to complex drawings. Illustrations are drawings that allow authors to show sections or parts of something, such as a machine or plant. Graphs are used to make large amounts of information easily accessible so that readers could see similarities between the items being discussed or recognize trends over time. Bar graphs illustrate information by using parallel rectangular bars of varying length to contrast information. Line graphs, pie graphs, pictographs, photographs, time lines, outlines, and mind maps are also examples of visual aids. Creating visual aids can be an effective study tool. The process of creating them increases understanding and also serves as a study session. The type of aid you decide to create will depend on the material you are trying to learn, understand and remember. I do have experience in creating visual aids. Through grade school and highs school I had created several. The one visual aid I did not have experience with was a mind map. That has changed though; I make them on a weekly basis. They honestly do help me study. I like visual aids because they stir things up. Reading continuously can get boring. Mind maps are great because they are summaries in the form of illustrations.